US opens federal investigation into Catholic Church sex abuse
US opens federal investigation into Catholic Church sex abuse The US Justice Department has opened an investigation into child sex abuse by hundreds of Catholic priests in the state of Pennsylvania, following the recent publication of a report on decades of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Pennsylvania. The Catholic dioceses in the cities of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Erie and Allentown said Thursday they had received federal subpoenas following a state grand jury report in August that alleged over 300 Catholic priests in Pennsylvania had sexually abused children over 70 years.